[Comedias] "Crisis in the Humanities" and the Comedia

[AHCT Listserv]

I have to express my concerns and agree with Matt here, although there is a surge on basic Spanish (one year or three semesters), literature is the dreaded "L" word.  I have tried with some mild success to change course titles to attract students: Love, Betrayal and Death in the Spanish Golden Age, Witches, B*tches and Queerness in Spanish Golden Age theatre, --a title that impinged students sensibilities and had to be renamed. A subject for another occasion, the generation of sensitive nurtured students and how and what they wish to be taught. But I digress, my numbers in these classes never made it to the teens.

A year or so ago, I taught Don Quixote in English for the first time, with Freshmen, it was illuminating noticing that there was no sense of metaphor, imagination, and/or curiosity towards this great mother of all novels -or worst... never heard of this novel or Cervantes. Is it Kentucky?  In early assessment, I found out most were registered because it was a transcultural required course. When I retooled it and offered it again focusing on cultural and film aspects, it was cancelled because only 8 enrolled. I mean, what is wrong with The madcap adventures of don Quixote and his sidekick Sancho?

We have had majors leaving our languages program, in spite of having a department with a title and degrees blending languages, culture and international studies. I guess the message promulgated by politicians and people that do not understand the importance of Liberal Arts, Languages and/or Literature has sunken in the minds of parents and passed on to their children "-get something practical and useful that pays bills".  Students switching majors or leaving the major to pursue, business, pre-med, psychology, communications, environmental studies, physical therapy, and to add insult to injury --English. Was the advent of languages across the curriculum initiatives and the implementation of languages for the profession the seeds of our undoing?  Did the development of Linguistics and all its ramifications became the new wave of studies? Another subject matter in itself too. In the end, what use do we have to know who was don Juan or being called one? or a Celestina? No longer I shall hear the word pícaro or pícara? En fin como dice don Francisco de Trillo y Figueroa, "todo lo nuevo aplace..."


Nelson López, MFA, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Chair,
Department of Global Languages and Cultures
Bellarmine University
2001 Newburg Road
Louisville, KY 40205
www.bellarmine.edu/cas/foreignlanguages<http://www.bellarmine.edu/cas/foreignlanguages>
502.272.8237 Office
502.272.7290 fax
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Spanish. Bestow great attention on this, and endeavor to acquire an accurate knowledge of it.
Our future connections with Spain and Spanish America, will render that language a valuable
acquisition. The ancient history of that part of America, too, is written in that language...
Thomas Jefferson (1787)
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From: Comedias [mailto:comedias-bounces at comedias.org] On Behalf Of AHCT Listserv
Sent: Monday, February 01, 2016 12:24 PM
To: comedias at comedias.org
Subject: Re: [Comedias] "Crisis in the Humanities" and the Comedia


Hi, Matt.



I teach at a small (1400) liberal arts college and the vast majority of my upper-level Spanish students are majoring in some pre-professional program with Spanish as a second major.  Since their objectives is primarily language proficiency, I'm compelled to sneak comedias in around the edges.  I've found that they react to them more positively if I approach them from a cultural artifact perspective rather than hope that they'll recognize their literary value.  I asked a recent class to reimagine Fuenteovejuna in terms of a contemporary situation that crosses multiple planes of society, to analyze the characterization of roles in the original text and think about how they would achieve similar effects in contemporary dialogue, and to think about shared understandings of context and environment (embodied cognition-, phenomenology- and semiotics-"light").  They actually came up with some intriguing insights and came away with a much deeper appreciation of the original text than students in previous years.  I've found that students can still learn to value a text, but perhaps not in the way I did when I was an undergraduate.



I hope this applies to what you're exploring.



Deb


Deborah A. Dougherty, Ph.D.
Chair, Department of Modern Languages
Professor of Spanish
Alma College

________________________________
From: Comedias <comedias-bounces at comedias.org<mailto:comedias-bounces at comedias.org>> on behalf of AHCT Listserv <comedias at comedias.org<mailto:comedias at comedias.org>>
Sent: Thursday, January 28, 2016 9:21 AM
To: comedias at comedias.org<mailto:comedias at comedias.org>
Subject: [Comedias] "Crisis in the Humanities" and the Comedia

There has been considerable discussion the past few years about the "crisis in the humanities": lower interest and lower enrollments in humanities courses due to the perception that philosophy, literature, and art history will be of little or no use in one's career. I have heard a few anecdotes about positions that are filled with Latin Americanists when the comediante leaves, about Golden Age courses being taught by adjuncts or professors who specialize in other areas of Spanish-language literature or culture, about Golden Age courses being taught less frequently or cancelled altogether, declining enrollments causing departments to reconfigure their needs, etc. I would very much appreciate receiving other data (including anecdotes) to determine whether there is a crisis in Golden Age studies, especially in the comedia, for any reason (economic, political, curricular, etc.). If you would like to share, you may send your information to the entire list by responding directly to this message, or you may send it directly to me at mstroud at trinity.edu<mailto:mstroud at trinity.edu> (especially if would prefer not to have your name made public). Any kind of relevant information (even that which refutes the notion of the crisis in the humanities) will be most appreciated.

Matt .

--
Matthew D. Stroud, Ph.D.
Professor of Spanish
Department of Modern Languages and Literatures
Trinity University
San Antonio, TX  78212
(210) 999-7549
mstroud at trinity.edu<mailto:mstroud at trinity.edu>
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